Thailand s beaming Somkiat Chantra set to make MotoGP history

BURIRAM – Somkiat Chantra can barely contain a beaming smile as he prepares to make history in front of his home fans as Thailand’s first MotoGP rider this week.

The 26-year-old will debut at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix on March 2 at Buriram, the first rider from his country to line up in the premier class.

“It’s amazing, it’s like a dream come true,” said Somkiat, admitting to some trepidation ahead of riding in front of a passionate home crowd. “I cannot imagine (the pressure) in Buriram on the first race.”

Known by his nickname “Kong” in Thailand, he will saddle up beside LCR Honda teammate Johann Zarco.

Frenchman Zarco said he was looking forward to helping Somkiat – the second rider from South-east Asia to reach MotoGP after Malaysia’s Hafizh Syahrin in 2018 – ease into his rookie season.

“I’m getting to know him, he’s really interesting, you can feel he’s very eager,” said Zarco, the oldest rider on the grid this season at 34. “It brings me so much joy when I can give a few tips and see that he applies them so quickly.”

Official testing in Malaysia and Thailand earlier in February illustrated the big step-up from Moto2 that Somkiat needs to make if he is to compete at the top level.

His lap times were among the slowest of the field. But after his final run at Buriram, he said he was “99 per cent” happy with his bike.

Somkiat joined Honda’s special pathway for young Asian talent at the age of nine and will replace Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami for the new MotoGP season.

The Thai rider, however, remains relatively unproven with only two victories in six years’ of racing for Honda in the second-tier Moto2, where he spent most of the 2024 season